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Developing archaeomagnetic dating in the British Iron Age.
Clelland, Sarah-Jane
Clelland, Sarah-Jane
Publication Date
2012-06-22
End of Embargo
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The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.
Peer-Reviewed
Open Access status
Accepted for publication
Institution
University of Bradford
Department
Department of Archaeological Sciences
Awarded
2011
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Abstract
Archaeomagnetism is an area of research that utilises the magnetic properties of
archaeological materials to date past human activity. This research aimed to use the
evidence of past geomagnetism, as recorded by archaeological and geological
materials, to identify and characterise short timescale changes in the Earth¿s
magnetic field. This contribution to the discipline focused on the first millennium
BC, as there is evidence that during this time the Earth¿s magnetic field experienced
rapid changes in direction. This work focused on an established weakness in
archaeomagnetic studies, i.e. the application of archaeological information to assign
a date range to the magnetic directions. The date ranges for 232 magnetic
directions from 98 Iron Age sites were reviewed and a programme of fieldwork
produced 25 new magnetic directions from 11 Iron Age sites across Britain. The
approach developed in this thesis has made significant improvements to the data
examined, which represent the prehistoric section of the British secular variation
curve (SVC). These data have been incorporated into the British archaeomagnetic
dataset that now comprises over 1000 magnetic directions and will be used to
generate future British SVCs. The potential of the near continuous records of
geomagnetic secular variation from British lake sediment sequences to SVCs was
explored. This showed that these sediments have recorded the relative changes in
the Earth¿s magnetic field but the dating and method of constructing the British
master curve requires revision. As SVCs are predominately used as calibration
curves for archaeomagnetic dating, this work provides a foundation for a revised
and extended British SVC. This revision would be to the mutual benefit of studies in
archaeology and archaeomagnetism, as the latter could potentially enable highresolution
dating of Iron Age material, providing a viable alternative to radiocarbon
dating.
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Type
Thesis
Qualification name
PhD
Notes
Available full-text since June 30th 2013, at the end of the embargo period.
Lab data and appendices 3 and 4 are unavailable online.
Lab data and appendices 3 and 4 are unavailable online.